Call to War
by Mandalorian Runescaper
Summary: We Kotor fans all know the basic story of how Revan and Malak joined the Mandalorian Wars. This new story tells of Revan's visit to Cathar and how that influenced him into stopping the Mandalorians.


**A/N: Hello everybody and welcome to my pre-Kotor fanfic! I've always been a huge Kotor fan and thought that I would have a go at writing a Mandalorian Wars one-shot. Please review and praise and constructive criticism are always welcome. If I get enough reviews I might even add more! Anyway please read and enjoy!**

 **PS: Feel free to mention any spelling and grammar mistakes!**

 **PPS: Italics mean force vision/ remembering the past.**

 **Call to War**

Revan slowly closed his eyes as he tried to stifle the overwhelming anger that seemed infused in every fibre of his being. Trying to calm himself down, he carefully tried to regulate his breathing as his master Kriea had taught him so long ago.

 _"_ _My fellow masters tell their padawans to control their emotions and in this they are right my young apprentice. However control and simply ignoring your emotions are not the same thing. Rather control is preventing emotions from overwhelming you and then using them to push yourself harder to accomplish even loftier goals. It is easy to ignore emotion by refusing to acknowledge it and simply thinking on something else, yet this is not control. If you choose to ignore your emotions Revan, you leave a maelstrom of chaos hidden in the back of your mind which can explode out at the slightest push from the correct direction. Hence this lesson is about controlling and accepting your emotions, not merely ignoring them but also not letting them control you."_

 _"_ _But Master" the young boy had asked. "Doesn't accepting emotions such as hate, fear and passion lead to the dark side?" The boy caught his breath for a moment and then blurted out, "Master Vrook said so!"_

 _Kriea smiled at the 6-year old Revan with the wry smile he grew accustomed to seeing whenever she criticised her fellow masters. "Emotions such as fear, rage and passion do lead to the dark side Revan, but only if you fail to control them." She paused to let her words sink in and then continued "Love can be just as damaging but look at our order's grandmaster Nomi Sunrider! She has a daughter she cherishes dearly and she had not fallen to the dark side has she?"_

 _Revan thought for a moment and then said "No but Master Sunrider is so powerful and noble, someone like her could never fall to the dark side!"_

 _A shadow seemed to fall over Kriea's face as she softly murmured "Many great Jedi have fallen to the dark side Revan, because they couldn't control their emotions properly. Master Sunrider may be a great Jedi but the threat of the dark side is always present, no matter how powerful and wise you are."_

 _The young Revan looked up apprehensively. "Are you at risk of falling to the dark side then Master?" Kriea chuckled slightly before replying "Currently no I am not, however should I ever let my emotions rule me instead of the other way around then yes I would be." The elderly Jedi master calmly looked into Revan's eyes before continuing "You must always be on guard when it comes to your emotions Revan. Now sit with me and meditate. You will find that it helps to keep your thoughts and emotions under control." Revan did as instructed and sat opposite his master before asking "Master has Master Vrook fallen to the dark side?" Kriea's lips twitched into an amused smile, an expression she wore only rarely. "Whatever makes you say that Revan?" she asked with a look of both mirth and interest gleaming in her eyes._

 _Revan looked abashed for a moment before leaning closer and whispering "Alek and I skipped our lecture with Master Vrook a week ago to go exploring and he found out!" Kriea's eyebrows both rose slightly and then she chucked "I'm not surprised he noticed Revan, there are only three of you that needed to attend that lecture" she paused for a moment before continuing "You and Alek left Meetra at the mercy of Master Vrook didn't you?"_

 _Revan giggled "Yeah Meetra was so annoyed that she slapped Alek, but I got away before she could do the same to me!" Kriea gave him the amused smile again before looking at him quizzically "While entertaining, I do not see why you believe that Master Vrook has fallen to the dark side Revan." The boy's expression of laughter left his face as he said "Master Vrook was waiting when we got back, he shouted at us for half an hour before Master Vandar arrived and dismissed us." Kriea nodded before replying "I see now, Master Vrook lost his temper and you thought he had fallen to the dark side because he was so angry?" Revan nodded before saying "All of the masters agree than anger leads to the dark side Master, and Master Vrook was furious and lost control." Revan paused before continuing "Is Master Vrook a sith now, while he try and hurt me and Alek?"_

 _Kreia chuckled once more and then smiled at him "No Master Vrook is no sith. He may let his anger get the better of him but he is no sith." Revan looked hopeful before he asked "Are you sure Master? I think he wants to hurt me and Alek." Kriea nodded once before saying "I am quite sure Revan but remember that Master Vrook lost control of his emotions and what have I been trying to teach you all day?" Revan's expression morphed into one of thoughtfulness before changing to one of triumph "To control and accept emotions" he bragged, "and not to ignore them or let them control me!"_

 _Kriea smiled warmly at the boy before saying "Exactly and no matter how great the Jedi is the threat of the dark side is always present. Now meditate to clear your mind of any conflict Revan." The boy nodded and then closed his eyes and focusing on the force. Kriea's voice seemed to be coming from the other side of the galaxy when she said "Focus your breathing Revan, in and out, in and out." Revan complied and he felt his mind begin to clear."_

What had worked so well for Revan two decades ago was not nearly so effective now. His blood boiled and his heart and mind both screamed to avenge the Cathar and slaughter the Mandalorians to the last man. His new mask prevented anyone else in the small shuttle they were cramped in from seeing his expression but he knew that save for the pilot they could all feel it through the force. Alek who was sitting on Revan's right kept opening and closing his mouth as he tried to find the words to calm the rage in his friend without success. Though already a strong Jedi like Revan, Alek lacked his friend's ability with words and so could not help Revan to escape the whirlpool of rage he seemed lost in. On Revan's left the reaction was similar and different to that of Alek's. Vrook was like Alek in that he was silent but unlike Alek his mouth was pressed into a thin line and distaste rather than brotherly affection rolled of off him.

Vrook's distaste stemmed from his personal dislike of the young Jedi ever since he had joined the order but had become notably stronger over the past few days. The Jedi council had (with the exception of Vrook who had protested for almost two hours during the council meeting and after a vote) decided to allow Revan and Alek to travel to Cathar to see the destruction the Mandalorian's had visited on the planet with their own eyes. Vrook's protest had been fundamentally due to two reasons, firstly he opposed any Jedi action that could lead to the order entering the war to help the Republic and secondly because the council had decided to send a master along. Vrook had no doubt that Kreia had swayed the rest of the council into sending him due to both her dislike of him, which was mutual and the fact that he had seen her talking to Master Vandar before the council meeting began.

Revan and Alek had been growing louder as of late due to their firmly rooted belief that the Jedi should be helping the Republic whenever possible due to the latter's early military defeats. Their speeches to their fellow Jedi had inflamed tensions between Jedi who believed that there was a greater threat behind the Mandalorian attack and those who believed it was the Jedi's duty to go to war and protect the Republic. In an attempt to appease both sides the council had eventually decided to send the three of them to Cathar to see the destruction first hand. The council had also decided that if the stories of the Mandalorian's brutality and massacre on the planet were true then they would allow Revan to take any willing Jedi with him to confront the Mandalorian onslaught. Vrook's thin-lipped and silent response was due to the fact that having seen the planet and the genocide of the Cathar people first hand he knew that the council would sanction Revan's little crusade.

The balding Jedi sighed slightly as he recalled the sight of the planet once they had left the shuttle after it had landed on a beach on Cathar. The first thing that had hit him was the smell. The scent of rotting flesh had filled his nostrils until his eyes watered and the urge to vomit had become almost overwhelming. He had wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his brown robe and then seen the cause of the stench.

Corpses. Thousands of them stretching as far as the eye could see lying on the sand or in the sea. Vrook had heard of the slaughter the Mandalorian's had carried out on the Holonet but he couldn't quite believe it after seeing it first-hand. Mothers and fathers huddled around children that they tried to protect with their bodices that had been cut down by both vibroblades and blasters alike by the look of it with the stench of congealed blood and rotting flesh hanging over the grim spectacle like an invisible phantom. Vrook looked around him and saw that the rumours were true it had been a massacre, not a battle but a massacre. He slowly began to walk around hearing from behind him the curses both Revan and Alek spat as they two descended from the shuttle and saw the slaughter for themselves. Vrook looked for any weapons that the Cathar might have had but saw none. They had been defenceless and had been cut down by Mandalorian blasters, some of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy. Vrook felt bile rising in his throat as he saw that many of the wounds had not been immediately fatal and that many of the Cathar would have taken hours to die.

A gasp from behind him sent him whirling round as Revan collapsed to his hands and knees while Alek tried to help his friend as best as he could. "Rev, Rev can you hear me?" Revan's lack of response worried Vrook greatly but although he turned and looked using both his eyes and the force he could see no threat, no remaining Mandalorians and when he looked at Revan again, no sign of injury.

A moment later Revan came to with a gasp as he finished watching the scene that the force had just shown him, a scene where he had seen the massacre unfold as though he had been there when it happened.

 _Revan could do nothing but watch in horror as the Mandalorians herded the defeated and terrified Cathar into the sea. Any who argued or dared to try and fight back against their Mandalorian oppressors were quickly put down by a blaster bolt or an expertly executed slash from a vibroblade. As the Cathar cowered and drew further and further back into the sea a single female voice cried out "Enough!"_

 _The Cathar, who had been trying to beg the Mandalorians in futility to spare them fell silent as did the gloating Mandalorians who turned to see who among the Cathar dared to speak against them, but the Cathar looked just as confused. Revan watched in transfixed amazement as a single Mandalorian warrior- female from the sound of the voice- pushed through the front lines of her fellow warriors to stand in front of them. She seemed to be shaking with rage as she then turned to face her fellow Mandalorians. A new voice, deeper and more masculine broke the stunned silence "Jeanna get your sorry arse back in formation now!"_

 _The man who had spoken seemed to be the leader due to his brightly polished gold armour, which stood in stark contrast to the blue and the less common red worn by his brethren. He raised his arm and pointed straight at her, "I said get your sorry arse back into formation, now!"_

 _By this time the rogue Mandalorian had reached the crowd of Cathar who were looking at her with expressions ranging from hate, to amazement, to complete confusion. The Mandalorians seemed equally divided from what Revan could gather from their different postures, their facial expressions being obscured by their helmets. Despite the emotional chaos around her the female Mandalorian's voice was steady with both courage and resolve when she said, "The enemy is defeated Cassus, we have gained great honour during this invasion." She then took a deep breath before continuing, "But to do this? To wipe out our defeated adversaries just to prove that we've won? What honour do we gain then that we don't have now?"_

 _Revan recognised the name Cassus. This was evidently Cassus Fett, the rumoured son of Mandalore the Ultimate, the man who had led the Mandalorian's into battle with the Republic. Revan felt his stomach churning with hatred as he glared at Cassus Fett. He was already well known for his bloodlust long before Cathar and Revan could now barely restrain the urge to cut the man's head from his shoulders with his lightsaber, not that he reflected it would do much good. This was presumably a force vision as no one had noticed him appearing several minutes ago._

 _Fett was now glaring through his helmet at the lone Mandalorian who stood before him with the Cathar just behind her. Then he spoke in a voice that rang with anger and threat, "These Cathar were too weak to hold onto their world. By the customs of our people it is therefore forfeit and now ours." His eyes began to rove over the Cathar, many of whom barred their teeth at him and hissed deep in their throats. He then continued "We have a much more interesting fight with The Republic than these snivelling mongrels. I don't want the headache of putting them down when they rebel after most of our troops leave, better to put them all down now." One of the Cathar stepped forward to stand next to the Jeanna and spat at Cassus "We are not mongrels you honourless dog! You Mandalorians are all cowardly butchers who attack weaker races because you lack the spines for an equal fight!"_

 _By now many of the Mandalorians were listening with rapt attention and were now looking at Cassus to see how he would react. From what Revan could tell the man was breathing heavily, the outrage at having his honour insulted having cut deeper than any lightsaber. "So you throw in your lot with these weaklings do you?" Jeanna nodded once. Fett grunted once and then shouted "Kill these snivelling cowards!" "No!" cried Revan, and despite the futility of trying to help he nonetheless sprinted in front of the Cathar and tried to deflect the incoming blaster bolts even as his vision went black._

Revan came to with a start that made Alek drop his friend to the blood-soaked sand beneath him. Instantly Revan sat up right gasping heavily as what he had just witnessed fully sank in. Cassus Fett… That was the murderer responsible for this genocide. He slowly got to his feet and saw both Alek and Vrook looking at him, Alek with concern and Vrook with distaste. Finally steadying his breathing Revan spoke. "I saw it." Alek helped to steady his friend as Revan staggered from the enormity of what he had just witnessed. "What did you see Revan?" The younger Jedi sucked in a deep breath before he spoke. "I saw this happen." Alek's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as he asked "How? This happened days ago Revan, how could you possibly have seen it?"

Vrook walked up to the pair, carefully picking his way around the bodies until he reached them. "A force vision?" Revan nodded wearily in agreement "Yes Master." Alek didn't know what was more unlikely, the fact that Revan had had a force vision or the fact that he had called Vrook "Master". Revan seemed to forget both of them and the galaxy itself as he picked his way past his companions and started walking across the corpse strewn beach. Ignoring both Vrook's and Alek's questions he sank to his knees next to the body of the lone Mandalorian who lay just in front of the slain Cathar. "I will not forget your sacrifice" he whispered as he gently removed the red and black mask she wore before closing her eyes with his left hand. With his right he slowly lifted the mask to his own face and his features were obscured behind the red and black visage. He then walked back to the shuttle, still ignoring Alek and Vrook.

It had been Vrook reflected, a very troubling day. Between the brutal reality of the Cathar massacre, Revan's explanation to the sceptical Vrook and Alek of his force vision and Revan and Alek's determination to fight the Mandalorians which now burned brighter than ever, Vrook knew with a sense of dreaded certainty that the Order was headed for dark times.


End file.
